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3rd Quarter EUEC Virtual Conference & Exhibition
TRACK E: August 17, 2021
E1.1 Extracting Organics from MSW to Produce RNG Using Anaerobic Digestion
8 am – 8:20 am PDT
11 am – 11:20 am EST
E1.1 Extracting Organics from MSW to Produce RNG Using Anaerobic Digestion
Anaergia designed, built, fully financed, owns, and operates the Rialto Bioenergy Facility (RBF). RBF, located in Rialto, California, is the largest anaerobic digester in North America and is capable of processing 1,000 TPD of biosolids and organics recovered from MSW. The facility utilizes Anaergia’s Organics Extrusion (OREX) press to separate organics from solid waste, which is fed to Anaergia’s Omnivore high solids wet digester to produce RNG and fertilizer in one third the footprint as conventional digestion. RBF will play a leading role in providing a cost-effective solution that can help jurisdictions meet California’s mandate to divert organics from landfill (SB1383) for beneficial reuse as fertilizer and energy.
E1.2 California Rule 21/30 Compliance Made Easy!
8:20 am – 8:40 am PDT
11:20 am – 11:40 am EST
E1.2 California Rule 21/30 Compliance Made Easy!
For pipeline injection of Renewable Natural Gas in California, a major hurdle is adherence to Pacific Gas and Electric’s Rule 21 and Southern California Gas’s Rule 30 requirements. These two specifications establish very exacting and difficult standards for trace contaminant constituents. For landfills, these specifications present a large risk, as landfill gas contaminants can change over the lifetime of the landfill. Guild Associates offers a unique approach to negate this hurdle with the Molecular Gate Pressure Swing Adsorption system. The speaker will present test data taken from existing field equipment demonstrating conformance.
E1.3 Management of Anaerobic Digester Effluent using Forward Osmosis
8:40 am – 9 am PDT
11:40 am – 12 pm EST
E1.3 Management of Anaerobic Digester Effluent using Forward Osmosis
Anaerobic digesters are commonly used to manage agricultural wastes as a means of mitigating odor, increasing nutrient bioavailability, and reducing undesirable microbes. Membrane technologies, specifically ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis (RO), have been successfully employed in concentrating the effluent for improved portability, but their use is hampered by the need for chemical pretreatment resulting in additional capital and operational costs. Fluid Technology Solutions has developed a technique to concentrate digester effluent without direct chemical additions. This technique uses a novel nano-bubble dissolved air flotation technique to remove large organic molecules like lignin, which are not decomposed by an anaerobic digester and have high fouling propensity in membrane processes. The pretreated digester effluent was then fed to a forward osmosis (FO) concentrator. FO concentrators are commonly used in high fouling applications because they use a draw solution to pull water across a semi-permeable rather than hydrostatic pressure. The semi-permeable membrane is an effective barrier to high fouling feed constituents not removed by pretreatment. This presentation will detail the process configuration highlighting pretreatment and concentrator performance to enable the reuse of clean water, generating a higher value nutrient stream for reuse or minimizing the volume of concentrated digester effluent to reduce transportation costs.
E1.4 Fueling Businesses with Renewable Natural Gas and Anaerobic Digestion
9 am – 9:20 am PDT
12 pm – 12:20 pm EST
E1.4 Fueling Businesses with Renewable Natural Gas and Anaerobic Digestion
Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a proven process for breaking down biodegradable waste material – often produced by large-scale agriculture and meat processing facilities – naturally using microorganisms in the absence of oxygen. As a byproduct, AD generates renewable natural gas – a non-fossil fuel source of effective, utility-grade sustainable energy that can be used for heating, electricity or to power vehicles. Anaerobic digestion-generated biogas – once refined into biomethane or RNG – can be used as ‘behind the meter’ energy, injectable into existing gas pipelines and usable for transportation fuel. For attendees representing large corporate and municipal organic waste generators, this oral presentation will explore how shared goals of reducing greenhouse gas can be achieved without sacrificing a positive return on investment. The session will also discuss how AD technology can be used to support Combined Heat and Power (CHP) deployment and improve duel-peaker efficiency for business across the United States. Knowing the necessary criteria for “utility-scale AD” is critical, attendees will gain from this session a robust understanding of when and where to integrate, as well as the economics, challenges and opportunities that the latest AD innovation brings.
E1.5 Precast Tank Solutions for Anaerobic Digesters and their Advantage over Poured in Place
9:20 am – 9:40 am PDT
12:20 pm – 12:40 pm EST
E1.5 Precast Tank Solutions for Anaerobic Digesters and their Advantage over Poured in Place
To discuss the advantages of precast over poured in place concrete, steel and other types of tanks. The talk is to highlight the structural, performance, and overall advantages precast offers. Presentation will emphasize the flexibility of having a custom designed and engineered solution for your specific project using circular, rectangular, square or elliptical shaped tanks that are not restricted to standard sizes. We also want to discuss the green advantages it offers especially in carbon capture and overall environmental impact. The presentation will highlight the advantages of how a product constructed in a factory controlled environment, eliminates all the potential problems associated with field constructed structures. Dutchland has the ability to assist the project team with the overall project design and self perform the engineering, production and installation of tanks with their field technicians.
Co-Author: Dave Beiler, Dutchland, Inc.
QUESTIONS
1. What has been Dutchland’s experience with the longevity of the tanks they have produced and installed?
2. What are the codes and standards the tanks are designed to?
3. What other similar tanks do you produce and for what other industries?
E2.1 Flip or Flop: Conversion of Biogas Power Generation to RNG
10:30 am – 10:50 am PDT
1:30 pm – 1:50 pm EST
E2.1 Flip or Flop: Conversion of Biogas Power Generation to RNG
Landfill gas and digester gas are currently widely used in the United States to produce renewable power; however, solar and wind have generally become more cost-effective sources of renewable power. The value of biogas as a source of renewable power has receded. Credits under the Federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS 2) Program and the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) Program now combine to create a market value for renewable natural gas (RNG) exceeding $30/MMBtu. RNG’s link to these programs is that RNG is dedicated for vehicle fuel use in the form of compressed natural gas (CNG). Large to moderately sized biogas power plants are now being shut down, and RNG plants are being constructed, using the freed-up biogas. The payback on the RNG plants is generally less than two years. The presentation will address: 1) An overview of the workings of the RFS 2 and LCFS programs – explaining how the credits are monetized, and reviewing the historic and possible future trend of RNG prices; 2) An overview of the technologies used to convert biogas to RNG – a natural gas equivalent. The RNG can then be injected into natural gas pipelines for transport to CNG users; 3) The pipeline interconnection process and governing pipeline quality standards will be briefly discussed; and 4) Construction cost, operation/maintenance cost and performance of a typical RNG plant will be presented.
E2.2 Siloxane Sampling Methods: Online vs Offline
10:50 am – 11:10 am PDT
1:50 pm – 2:10 pm EST
E2.2 Siloxane Sampling Methods: Online vs Offline
The current ‘gold standard’ method for quantifying siloxanes in landfill gas is to collect samples from site in Tedlar® gas sampling bags and then analyse offline via GC-MS. However this method is not without problems. Many landfill sites report that analysis results can vary between laboratories. Furthermore when continuous land fill gas analysis has been carried out using an FTIR analyser and compared with results from the analysis of bagged samples the results can differ vastly; in some cases 100’s of ppm difference. The Presentation will discuss the advantages of continuous siloxane monitoring by means of FTIR techniques using experimental and field data.
Co-Author: Chris Daw, Protea Ltd.
E2.3 Pumping Elevated-Temp Fluids to 300°F — Case Studies, Lessons Learned
11:10 am – 11:30 am PDT
2:10 pm – 2:30 pm EST
E2.3 Pumping Elevated-Temp Fluids to 300°F -- Case Studies, Lessons Learned
More landfills are reporting temperatures of 150°F to 300°F from exothermic reactions, incapacitating common pumps and PVC tubing used for leachate removal and gas-well dewatering. Elevated Temperature Landfill (ETLF) managers are learning to successfully pump hot leachate and reduce site temperatures using specially constructed positive-displacement piston pumps, which stand up to elevated temps and liquids of altered composition. Attendees will learn that ETLF sites can be safely and efficiently pumped, requirements for pumping difficult wells, maintenance needs, costs and productivity expectations, plus piston-pumping advantages, recent case studies and aggressive dewatering strategies to avoid the ETLF threshold.
E2.4 Lessons Learned at Landfills Complying with NSPS XXX Requirements
11:30 am – 11:50 am PDT
2:30 pm – 2:50 pm EST
E2.4 Lessons Learned at Landfills Complying with NSPS XXX Requirements
Although much has been written and said about EPA’s updated New Source Performance Standard for MSW Landfills, which was published as 40 CFR Part 60, Subpart XXX on August 29, 2016, to date that discussion has thus far been hypothetical and forward-looking. New landfills have been built, and several existing landfills have been permitted for and commenced construction on design capacity expansions after the rule’s July 17, 2014 trigger date. Those changes have made them subject to Subpart XXX, and a subset of those facilities have emissions sufficient to have triggered the Subpart XXX emission control requirements. Although EPA is in the process of reconsidering aspects of Subpart XXX, three facilities represented by the author reached their respective compliance deadlines in 2019 for their emission controls to be online and meeting Subpart XXX standards. As such, this creates one of the first opportunities to discuss firsthand experience transitioning into compliance with the new standards.
Co-Author: Lina Luo, Trinity Consultants
E2.5 Food Waste Recycling Best Practices
11:50 am – 12:10 pm PDT
2:50 pm – 3:10 pm EST
E2.5 Food Waste Recycling Best Practices
Food waste comes in many forms: recalls, expired products, rejected loads, damaged goods, and discontinued items. This presentation will describe case studies that highlight best practices for food waste collection at multiple types of facilities. From grocery stores to restaurants, from distribution centers to break rooms, the unique organics recycling challenges each business faces are as different as the businesses themselves. How did a small-box retailer manage their expired milk using anaerobic digestion? How did a distribution center find a solution for their packaged food waste involving depackaging and AD? How did a grocery chain develop a successful process for food waste collection? What lessons were learned and how can these best practices be applied to other generators? Attendees will hear about these and other examples of real life scenarios where businesses are faced with a food waste challenge—and met that challenge head on.
E2.6 Helping Refiners Navigate the World of Renewable Feedstocks and Biofuel Technologies
12:10 pm – 12:30 pm PDT
3:10 pm – 3:30 pm EST
E2.6 Helping Refiners Navigate the World of Renewable Feedstocks and Biofuel Technologies
Refiners worldwide face a challenge to meet Renewable Energy (RE) targets. Many refiners find themselves navigating unchartered territory as there are potentially many different pathways to fulfill the renewable energy requirements, but the most economically advantageous can only be determined after analyzing the most profitable combination of feedstock availability, logistics costs, technology readiness and CAPEX. Whereas some of these renewable feedstocks and technologies are sufficiently mature, others will require non-conventional approaches to become a feasible solution for refiners. This paper follows the principles of a circular economy to identify suitable feedstocks & technologies that can be used to produce biofuels in a conventional refinery setting, utilizing existing units as assets.
E3.1 The Development of a Municipal Waste to Fuel Program
1 pm – 1:20 pm PDT
4 pm – 4:20 pm EST
E3.1 The Development of a Municipal Waste to Fuel Program
A look at the advantages, perils and pitfalls encountered through planning, financing, design, construction and implementation of a waste to fuel program for the City of Manteca. Manteca developed their Waste-to-Fuel Program to address legislation for organics diversion (AB1826, SB 1383, etc.), reduce impacts of fuel costs, and accommodate future growth. New facilities were installed at the Manteca WQCF for gas production and dispensing, and receiving diverted organics. This allows biogas produced from organic wastes to be dispensed as renewable CNG Fuel (R-CNG) in lieu of consuming diesel. The R-CNG will fuel the City’s growing Heavy Duty Fleet of CNG vehicles. The system is designed to initially produce up to 500 Diesel Gallon Equivalents (DGE)/day (182,500 DGE/year), and is anticipated to generate in excess of 140,000 DGE/year at the onset. This could save the City $400k to $600k in deferred fuel costs to start, depending on market prices. Additionally, it will reduce CO2 impacts by reducing City diesel consumption, replacing it with R-CNG, while concurrently reducing biogas flaring. The facilities were designed to cost effectively facilitate future growth. To help fund the capital costs, the City received $3.3 Million from the CEC and $1.9 Million from the SJVAPCD. The estimated ROI on this program is about 18 years. This program received the 2019 Project Excellence Award at WEFTEC.
Co-Author: Gregory Harris, Herwit Engineering
E3.2 Renewable Diesel: Risk Free Carbon Footprint Reduction
1:20 pm – 1:40 pm PDT
4:20 pm – 4:40 pm EST
E3.2 Renewable Diesel: Risk Free Carbon Footprint Reduction
Renewable Diesel fuel provides fleet owners a way to immediately reduce their carbon footprint without requiring any change in fueling, infrastructure or operator training. It is a 100% drop-in replacement for fossil based diesel and the switch can be made overnight.
E3.3 The Evolution of Emission Controls on Landfill Gas Engines and Turbines
1:40 pm – 2 pm PDT
4:40 pm – 5 pm EST
E3.3 The Evolution of Emission Controls on Landfill Gas Engines and Turbines
The proposed presentation will detail the history of emissions controls employed on landfill gas (LFG) engines and turbines that are employed in renewable energy projects. This would include a summary of the evolution of these controls over the last 20 years. The presentation will also cover the regulatory requirements that have affected these controls, including determinations of best available control technology (BACT) and lowest achievable emission rate (LAER). The presentations will summarize the technologies used in these emission controls, the amount of emission reductions that can be achieved, and provide case studies of several projects where different types of controls have been used. As part of the case studies, design issues, operational issues, and costs of control will be discussed, including long term cost effectiveness and viability.
E3.4 Black and White or Surprisingly Green: Reimagining Legacy Coal Plants for Green Hydrogen
2 pm – 2:20 pm PDT
5 pm – 5:20 pm EST
E3.4 Black and White or Surprisingly Green: Reimagining Legacy Coal Plants for Green Hydrogen
The Age of Carbon is rapidly passing, leaving thousands of coal-fired power plants increasingly stranded around the world. In turn, each plant represents (or will soon represent) stranded workforces, communities, and commercial ecosystems. Or we can “flip the script”, as the California municipal utilities of Los Angeles, Burbank, and Glendale are demonstrating in the rural US state of Utah, along with our Utah partners. We’re repowering a legacy 1,800 MW coal plant called Intermountain to create a renewable-integrating, power generating, green hydrogen future. It will be a crucial part of California’s electrified, renewable-intensive, zero-GHG future and a model for legacy coal plants around the world. My presentation will explore the past, present, and future at Intermountain and frame a template for “flipping the script” at legacy coal plants around the world.
E3.5 Waste-to-Energy or Wasted Energy?
2:20 pm – 2:40 pm PDT
5:20 pm – 5:40 pm EST
E3.5 Waste-to-Energy or Wasted Energy?
Trash-to-Cash, the predecessor to Waste-to-Energy (WTE), facilities are not a new idea for disposing of waste materials and in the process, creating a useful energy stream. Aided by the Public Utility Regulation Policy Act (PURPA) of 1978 that enabled non-utility generators to access and sell electricity to the grid, WTE facilities blossomed, and briefly flourished. Flourished, then, due to their typically sub-78 MW size, a practically near-limitless supply of income-producing, if not free, fuel, and an attractive alternative to unsightly landfills and garbage dumps. Now, why in an eco-crazed and power-hungry society, are WTE facilities like dinosaurs, seemingly out-of-favor [if their existence is even acknowledged], and viewed askance? Notwithstanding today’s eco-friendly recycling efforts, the continuation of the growing balance of the U.S.’s-generated waste going to landfills explains the dearth of WTE facilities, while defying environmental consciousness – this presentation will examine what is behind this wasted energy.
E3.6 Reduce H2S Removal Costs for Landfill Gas with BSR-050
2:40 pm – 3 pm PDT
5:40 pm – 6 pm EST
E3.6 Reduce H2S Removal Costs for Landfill Gas with BSR-050
BSR-050 is a highly reactive, high capacity H2S removal media capable of operating over a wide range of conditions associated with natural gas processing and odor control applications. When employed in landfill gas purification, BSR-050 continues to achieve capacities greater than 1 lb H2S removed per lb of media – even when operating with high concentrations of H2S and O2 levels on the order of 0.1%. The relationship between temperature and the concentration of H2S, O2 and H2O in the gas stream and how they impact H2S removal will be discussed.